Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
Pittsburgh Zoo
The Pittsburgh Zoo is divided into seven sections, each of which focuses on a particular theme.
Kid’s Kingdom
Kid’s Kingdom opened in 1949, when it was then simply called Children’s Zoo. This section of the zoo is an interactive children’s area, and contains several petting zoo stocked with domesticated animals; a reptile house; a playground; and several exhibits featuring wildlife from Pennsylvania, including the white-tailed deer, wild turkey, American beaver, and river otter.
Kid’s Kingdom contains many interactive exhibits, such as the meerkat exhibit, which contains crawl-through tunnels that gives the viewer an idea of what it is like to be a meerkat or other burrowing animal. The animal yards and habitats in Kids Kingdom allow visitors to learn about animals’ lives, behaviors, and points-of-view. Kid’s Kingdom has been highly ranked by both Parent Magazine and America’s Best Zoos Travel Guide.
Pittsburgh Zoo Logo
Built in 1967 (then called AquaZoo) and renovated in 2000, the PPG Aquarium is a 45,000 square foot, two-story aquarium that presents several aquatic habitats. The aquarium’s theme is the “Diversity of Water”, and contains several exhibits that portray different marine ecosystems, including a tropical rainforest inhabited by tamarins and piranha; a Pennsylvania exhibit, which features fish and aquatic wildlife of the Allegheny River, such as the brook trout; a penguin exhibit, which is inhabited by kings, macaronis, and gentoos; a coral reef; a stingray tunnel; and an open ocean exhibit.
Asian Forest
Asian Forest contains several species from Eastern and Southeast Asia, and simulates a journey from the Himalayas to Indonesia. This section features some of the most critically endangered big cats of Asia, including the Amur leopard, Amur tiger, and snow leopard, as well as several other Asian animals, such as the Komodo dragon. This section of the zoo is the result of the Zoo’s Master Plan of 1980, which was dedicated to create more naturalistic exhibits than what existed at the time.
Pittsburgh Zoo
Tropical Forest
The Tropical Forest, which opened in 1991, is a 16-acre indoor rainforest. This building focuses mostly on primates, and contains 16 species of lemurs, monkeys, gibbons, and great apes, including gorillas and orangutans; however, several other types of rainforest animals are displayed here, such as sloths and poison dart frogs.
In 2010, Barbara Baker stated that the orangutans that are featured in the Tropical Forest will soon be moved to another part of the zoo, where they will have an outdoor exhibit for the first time.
African Savanna
Like the Asian Forest, the African Savanna is also a result of the Zoo Master’s Plan of 1980. Completed in 1987, this section of the zoo is modeled to give the viewer the impression that he is walking along a river in an African savanna. This section of the zoo contains lions, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, and African painted dogs.
Pittsburgh Zoo
The three bear exhibits were built in 1937 under the Works Progress Administration program, and are the oldest exhibits in the zoo.[3] Three bear species are displayed here: American Black Bears, Spectacled Bears, and a Kodiak Bear.
In August 2010, the Pittsburgh Zoo announced that their 28-year-old Kodiak bear, Rocky, passed away. Rocky was suffering from severe arthritis in the joints between his vertebrae, causing severe pain and limited mobility. Although the veterinary staff attempted to alleviate Rocky’s pain, his quality of life continued to rapidly decline, and he had to be humanely euthanized. As of August 2010, his exhibit is currently empty.
Water’s Edge
Completed in 2006, Water’s Edge is the newest section of the zoo, and is located adjacent to the PPG aquarium. This section is constructed to resemble a coastal fishing village, and illustrates the ways that humans interact with marine wildlife in coastal areas. A long walk-through tunnel runs through three large water tanks containing polar bears, sea otters, and sand tiger sharks.
According to Barbara Baker, the shark exhibit was originally intended for a walrus, but walruses are difficult to obtain. The sharks are temporarily being held in the exhibit while the zoo waits for a walrus.
Pittsburgh Zoo
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